Hometown hero John Dowd prepares for his final ride in AMA Motocross Southwick National; hoping son Ryan also qualifies

One of John Dowd's late-career highlights was his runner-up showing in 2009 (pictured).Bob Parker

John Dowd has always considered the Southwick motocross fans part of his extended family.

As the “Junk Yard Dog” prepares for his final ride around Motocross 338, the Ludlow resident hopes he can share that moment with his actual family – namely, 16-year-old son Ryan.

John Dowd, 47, will attempt to qualify the No. 16 Kawasaki one last time Saturday in the 450 Class at the AMA Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship’s Chaplin Kawasaki Moto-X 338 National. In addition, the Dowds will look to make history, as Ryan Dowd is expected to vie for a spot in the field in the 250 Class.

“That’s never happened before in the sport, as far as having a father and a son racing a National,” John Dowd said Monday in a phone interview. “It’s never even been attempted. It would be a record of some sort.”

Not only is Saturday’s race the last of Dowd’s 26-year professional career, it is also – for now – expected to be the final National at the famed “Sandbox.” No rider is more synonymous with Motocross 338 than Dowd, the hometown favorite who always seems to find a little extra for his fans, even well into his 40s.

“I’ve raced the National since 1987, and it’s been a lot of years,” the Chicopee native said. “I’m ready to call it a day. I’m doing this one last time for my fans, and hopefully we can have a good day.

“It would be really cool to see if (Ryan) can get out there as well. It would be kind of the end of an era but the beginning of a new era.”

“Seeing how this could be the last Southwick, and that I’ve kind of officially announced that this would be my last race as well, we’re trying to bump up his program and try to get him out there just because it could be the last time for Southwick,” Dowd said. “We’re really preparing for him to be out there as well.”

Getting Ryan into the field also puts a little more burden on John, but he’s more than willing to shoulder it.

“It just adds a little bit more to it for us, but it’s really exciting,” John Dowd said. “I’m really excited for that. Hopefully, we can get everything together legally-wise and get him out there. On Saturday, it’s going to just be a matter of both of us getting out there and trying to go fast enough to qualify for the race, first of all, and then see what happens in the races after that.”

If both Dowds are successful, this Southwick National will likely rank up there among John’s greatest moments at the track. His dominant victories in 1997 and 1998 are his finest based on performance, while his runner-up showing on a rainy, muddy day in 2009 is a definite highlight from his later career.

“I could go on and on about a lot of high points along the way,” said Dowd, who finished 14th last year. “Southwick is almost like magical for me, and even the other local guys over the years who have had some success there.

“For some reason, we’ve always been able to come there and sometimes just have something happen – just good, almost like magical. Getting that second a few years ago was unbelievable. I never would have thought that I could have pulled that off in a hundred years at age 44 at the time.”

The Southwick crowd is always aware of where their hero is on the track, and they will certainly know this is the Junk Yard Dog’s last ride. Dowd’s not sure exactly how the day will play out, but he knows one thing for certain.

“I don’t know how I’m going to handle it, but I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of emotions,” Dowd said. “I hope it’s a good day. I hope it’s a good ride.

“One last lucky day, a nice kind of trouble-free ride, would be awesome.”

Riders will qualify for the event during practice Saturday morning. The main events begin at 1 p.m. Ryan Dungey (450), Blake Baggett (250) and Ashley Fiolek (women’s) won last year’s overall titles at “Southwicked.”